217 



THE CONSERVATIVE REFORMERS. 



On the recent accession of the Tories to office, a loud outcry was 

 set up by certain organs of the party, probably instructed in their 

 calling, to the effect, that unless the country consented to give the 

 ministers "a fair trial/' or, in other words, to stop the legislative 

 machine until they were comfortably and securely seated ; the inevit- 

 able consequence would be, that we should be all given up to the 

 tender mercies of the Destructives. 



Now, it must be confessed, the term " Destructive" has certainly a 

 rather ugly and dangerous look, and has, by no means, so genteel an 

 appearance as the title of " Conservative," which the Tories, of late 

 years, have bestowed upon themselves. But it may be as well briefly 

 to enquire what is meant by these two names. 



A Destructive, to consult the Tory vocabulary, is one who has a 

 strong itching to possess himself of the private property of other 

 people who would fain assist at the division of the landed estates- 

 who would make one to rob the Bank and who has a secret deter- 

 mination of pulling down the crown. Such a man as this would 

 seem to be should surely be watched, and when you catch him, we 

 would advise that he be well taken care of; but out of what bedlam, 

 or, rather, in what madhouse will you find him ? There is no such 

 monster. He is the unicorn of which we are informed in nursery 

 rhymes (congenial conservative lore), which was found " fighting for 

 the crown/' a fable of the fabulous. That there may be men in 

 this country, who conscientiously believe that the constitution of 

 England is not the best form of government that could be devised 

 for a free and an enlightened people, we admit ; but, that it thence 

 necessarily follows that they would attempt to overturn the existing 

 order of things, in defiance of morality and religion, and regardless 

 of the civil rights of their countrymen, is a most preposterous suppo- 

 sition. Their very opinions, being founded upon patriotic principles, 

 are the best guarantee for their remaining good citizens, so long as 

 their undoubted rights and privileges are conceded to them. 



That the Tory party is grossly ignorant of, or perversely misun- 

 derstands, the constitution of England, is apparent in its absurd en- 

 deavours to attach the term Destructive to many of the more liberal 



M.M. No. 3. 2 F 



