52
LETTER TO SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY.
of disquieting the alarmists, they have so acted as to afford abuses of all descriptions effectual shelter. Upon the present occasion they have not deviated from their accustomed course ; and the interposition of Parliament will be required to force them out of it, as it has frequently done before. The season has happily passed away when the country could be frightened out of a necessary attention to the mismanagement of its affairs ; and an opinion is daily gaining ground, that its safety might be secured, instead of endangered, by the steady yet temperate progress of well-considered, timely reformation. It is devoutly to be hoped, that the clamours, and the still more dangerous intrigues of men directly interested in the continuance of abuse, may not be permitted to influence the House of Commons during the approaching session. If any thing has been clearly proved in the foregoing pages, it is the absolute necessity of reviving the Education Committee, and extending its powers to all charities whatever. This measure alone can strengthen the hands of the Commissioners, whom all good men must wish to support, whether they approve or blame the selection that has been made. It is no less necessary for pursuing the investigation of the important matters withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Board. An opposition to the renewal of that Committee can only originate in a determined resolution to screen delinquents, to perpetuate neglect and malversation. I trust I may be permitted to affirm, without incurring the charge of presumption, that never did any Committee better deserve the confidence of Parliament and of the Country, whether we regard the diligence or the impartiality with which it performed its duty. Gratitude to my colleagues, as well as justice to the public, requires from me this acknowledgment. It is true we had enemies, who from the first re-